Geohistorical Baselines of Osyter Reef Health: A Paleoecological Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Paleontological Research Institute, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

The near- and long-term ecological effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are only just beginning to be assessed. This project uses a relatively simple method? comparison of the rank-order abundance of molluscan living and time-averaged death assemblages ?to establish an ecological baseline of oyster reef health. This approach has the advantage of providing a census of oyster reef communities in areas where conventional live-collected samples resulting from long-term monitoring efforts are sparse or unavailable. Such baseline information will allow us to move beyond the recognition of the immediate ecological changes resulting from the oil spill, by providing a unique perspective on the composition of pre-impact oyster reefs. This kind of information is not available from ?snapshot? baselines, such as those collected by many governmental and non-governmental agencies in response to the oil spill. This information provides much needed context for setting restoration goals. It also highlights the key role that geohistorical data have to play in conservation efforts. The results of this study provide critical baseline data needed to assess the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the ecology and structure of oyster reefs in the Gulf region. This study also serves as a foundation for future policy amendments and ensures our post oil spill conservation efforts more fully align with an ecosystem-based management approach that integrates and implements increased knowledge to improve management and policy decisions. While many existing conservation and management processes include aspects of a baseline assessment, most contingency efforts focus solely on a limited range of remedial management efforts. Missing from this picture is a more proactive process for more comprehensive recognition of human effects on marine ecosystems. For future ecosystem remediation efforts to be effective, a more holistic approach that incorporates and explicitly evaluates the historical diversity and abundance of our marine ecosystems will be required. This project provides a valuable example of such an approach. Results from this project will be widely disseminated both to the academic community and general public. In particular, two outreach projects will make the results accessible to broad audiences both locally and nationally. These projects build on recent outreach initiatives of the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), which were a response to public requests for information on the ecological effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The first of these initiatives is a small temporary exhibit in PRI?s Museum of the Earth. The exhibit is based on specimens of modern marine invertebrates, especially corals and mollusks, from PRI?s extensive research collections. The second is a website (www.museumoftheearth.org/undersiege) explaining the diversity of marine invertebrates in the Gulf and Keys and why these species may be especially vulnerable to crude oil. These two vehicles will be used to present the results of this oyster reef project.